by Author Susan Mann

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Playing with sounds and their voices as easily as they might with glitter and glue.

With funding from  the National Foundation for Youth Music, we have trained 42 EYFS staff  from eleven schools in the city of Salford to deliver our Can Do Music programme.

Can Do Music Early Years is an intervention programme for children under 5 who need support in their communication and behavioural development. It uses singing and song inspired activity to develop, speech and language, listening, waiting, turn taking and interaction skills. The resources and programme are designed to support teachers, teaching assistants and support staff to deliver Can Do independently; no musical knowledge or skill is required.

By resourcing staff with our Can Do Music resource pack, we want Salford EY staff to become confident and mindful music leaders; playing with sounds and their voices as easily as they might with glitter and glue. The pack is proving to be easily accessible and the 30 original songs are motivating staff immediately. With 5 more training days planned we aim to have the Can Do resource pack in every nursery school in Salford.

“ The course content was excellent, this programme will benefit all the children in our nursery”    Jill Quinn, Willow Tree Primary

We have achieved a very encouraging 97% satisfaction rate with regard to the relevance of the programme to staffs’ working lives. Anyone interested in knowing more about our training effort and options to attend please get in touch with Sue Mann musicunlimited@me.com

Progress on the ground

It’s early days yet as sessions only started late September, but informal anecdotal evidence suggest that the programme is doing exactly what we hoped it would and more. We designed the programme to support small discrete group work with children who have a range of additional needs. In many of the schools staff have set up several small groups and deliver the programme weekly and in some cases daily. Staff are also use the programme with whole classes and feedback is that the children love the songs and enjoy the sessions.

Lark Hill Primary School: 

“ after our last Can Do session one child independently went to the creative area and made a shaker, this led to more children in the creative area making shakers and singing the Can Do songs” 

Progress in Partnership. Our bid partner Salford Music and Performing Arts Service have delegated two members of staff to be their Early Years specialists and to work with us in the project with a view to continuing to support the programme at project end. We have also engaged an EYFS specialist to evaluate the impact of the project throughout the year and we are really keen to get her feedback. 

For more information please visit. www.candomusic.co.uk